Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Human rights groups protest new $49 million Guantánamo prison

If ever there was a sign that the military prison in Guantánamo Bay isn't closing any time soon, it came Thursday when the United States Southern Command asked Congress for $49 million to construct a new prison building on top of other renovations...

Published Fri, Mar 22 2013 12:50 PM by FP Passport

Morning Brief: Cyprus reaches new bailout deal with European regulators

Cyprus reaches new bailout deal with European regulators Top news: European financial regulators struck a last-minute deal with the Cypriot government in the early hours of Monday that will prevent Cyprus' exit from the eurozone and scraps a politically...

Published Mon, Mar 25 2013 5:43 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Stats junkie successfully predicts another African coup

Political scientist Jay Ulfelder, who's quickly becoming the Nate Silver of coups, has accurately predicted another one with the ouster of President Francois Bozizé of the Central African Republic. On Monday, rebel fighters cemented control over the...

Published Mon, Mar 25 2013 3:00 PM by FP Passport

Bombing North Korea's sacred statues would be gratifying but foolish

Today, North Korea scolded the South for its reported plan to destroy two giant bronze statues in Pyongyang if the North issues any further provocations. Experts on the conflict, speaking with Foreign Policy today, tend to agree with the North: This would...

Published Tue, Mar 26 2013 12:45 PM by FP Passport

What happened to the Jews of Egypt?

You wouldn't know it from walking around Cairo today, but there used to be a vibrant Jewish population in Egypt. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, this 80,000-strong community was a pillar of the country's political, economic, and...

Published Wed, Mar 27 2013 5:43 AM by FP Passport

Interested in a televised, one-way, super-competitive mission to Mars?

The past month has brought a flood of heady news for Mars enthusiasts. First, multimillionaire space tourist Dennis Tito launched his project to send two civilians on a 500-day fly-by mission to Mars in 2018. Since then, we've seen headlines about...

Published Thu, Mar 28 2013 12:50 PM by FP Passport

Venezuelan TV spot shows Chávez meeting Che and Simón Bolívar in heaven

When Peter Wilson wrote in Foreign Policy that Hugo Chávez is still casting a shadow over Venezuela's upcoming presidential election, he wasn't kidding. Annointed successor Nicolás Maduro has already suggested that the deceased comandante persuaded...

Published Thu, Mar 28 2013 6:00 PM by FP Passport

Former CIA officer speaks out against new clandestine service chief

This week we learned that an undercover CIA officer who signed off on a controversial decision to destroy videotapes of prisoners being tortured in 2005 has ascended to the top job within the agency's clandestine service. Now, a former senior CIA...

Published Fri, Mar 29 2013 2:00 PM by FP Passport

The U.S. is running out of fancy planes to send to Korea

With each passing day, the United States has met North Korean bellicosity with the deployment of increasingly sophisticated aircraft to the East Asian peninsula. But with Sunday's mobilization of F-22 stealth fighter jets, the U.S. military has quickly...

Published Mon, Apr 01 2013 10:00 AM by FP Passport

Are fake funerals the next big thing?

This past weekend, Zeng Jia prepared and participated in her own funeral -- except she was alive the whole time. The Chinese college student, whose grandfather's recent death inspired her to organize her own -- rather premature -- funeral, said that...

Published Mon, Apr 01 2013 4:50 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, China

The economics behind dead pig sales in China

In her article for FP today, Laurie Garrett wonders whether thousands of dead pigs washing up in Shanghai's rivers and two Chinese citizens dying of a new flu strain are early symptoms of the next big pandemic. What's more, she writes, the potentially...

Published Tue, Apr 02 2013 12:45 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: East Asia, China, Food/Agriculture

Morning Brief: New challenges as aid arrives in Haiti

New challenges as aid arrives in Haiti Top story: The pace of international food and medical aid into Haiti has finally picked up, though the effort is still hampered by the chaotic conditions on the ground and a host of new challenges, such as controlling...

Published Tue, Jan 19 2010 6:22 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Cuba's greatest export? Medical diplomacy

What can an impoverished island nation -- one isolated by the United States and lacking natural resources of its own -- do to secure its influence in the world and earn hard currency? In Cuba's case, the answer lies in its medical corps. On Monday...

Published Tue, May 07 2013 4:00 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: Latin America, U.S. Foreign Policy, Health, Trade

Why is a decades-old poisoning case taking Chinese social media by storm?

A surprising topic has dominated Chinese social media over the last few weeks: the story of Zhu Ling, who in 1994 was an undergraduate at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University. "Enthusiastic, intelligent and attractive, she was an active...

Published Tue, May 07 2013 1:45 PM by FP Passport

How do you investigate North Korean human rights abuses from afar?

Normal 0 false false false EN-US ZH-CN X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 On Tuesday, the U.N. Human Rights Council announced the three individuals who will lead the body's first-ever human rights investigation into North Korea. In an interview with...

Published Wed, May 08 2013 1:50 PM by FP Passport